Internal competition

Panthers healthy lineup a change from previous years

Forbes MacPherson has a luxury he hasn’t had in recent years – a healthy squad.

The UPEI Panthers have almost everyone available to them after running with short benches at times due to injuries or suspensions during the past few Atlantic University Sport (AUS) men’s hockey seasons.

That internal competition is a good thing for the squad.

“It’s a battle to get in the lineup now,” MacPherson said Tuesday.

“It’s been the first time in a couple of years where we’ve been able to have this competition where guys are competing for spots and to stay in the lineup. It’s healthy,” he added. “The last couple of years, it’s been the complete opposite, so we’re not going to complain.”

The Panthers coaching staff will have some more tough decisions to make in deciding who dresses for tonight’s home game with the St. FX X-Men. Game time is 7 p.m. at MacLauchlan Arena.

The third-place Panthers (10-7-2) are two points up on St. FX (9-8-2).

The X-Men roster includes Kelvin Grove defenceman Bailey Webster as well as former Charlottetown Islanders Blade Mann-Dixon, Will Bower and Will Thompson. Webster has three assists in 19 games during his rookie AUS campaign.

UPEI earned three out of a possible six points last week. They lost 3-2 in a shootout at Dalhousie, defeated Acadia 2-1 and lost 9-2 to Saint Mary’s at home. The Panthers played three games in four days and went to the third trailing Saint Mary’s 4-2 on Saturday night.

“We truly believe, for eight of the nine periods, we played very well,” MacPherson said.

The Panthers complete this week with road games at St. FX on Friday and Dalhousie on Saturday.